I got the idea to start a website/blog in February of 2020. At the beginning of the year, I made the decision to start investing in my professional development including hiring a career coach. I was at a crossroads in my life. I had all the pieces to the puzzle, but was still struggling to advance my career to the level I desired.
While working with my coach, I shared my experiences of being an educated black woman in Corporate America and the struggles I’d faced while trying to advance my career. I had earned 3 degrees, had a resume filled with relevant and successful experiences, yet my career advancement was constantly met with roadblocks, lack of access, disappointments, microaggression, and toxic work environments. I know that degrees don’t eliminate the struggle, but I felt that I had checked all of the boxes that I was told to check.
First Thing You Know, is a shortened version of my late grandfather Milton “Bud” Ross’ favorite sayings, “First thing you know, you won’t know nothing.” This blog pays homage to his favorite saying, that simply defines so many phases of life. Life comes at you hard and fast and sometimes we are presented with professional and personal roadblocks that knock us down and as my grandfather would say, “First thing you know, you won’t know nothing.”
I know that I am not the only person who has felt like life knocked them down and they didn’t know what happened or how they got there. I wanted to create a space to discuss what to do when you don’t know what to do. I know the mistakes I’ve made, lessons learned, and journey towards self-realization could encourage someone to keep grinding when they didn’t know what else to do.
This website will be a place to share truths as I see them. I encourge you to engage with me as I provide resources, advice, and encouragement to keep us all moving forward. Each post will also end with a Shifting Thought designed to challenge your perspective and push you beyond what you think you know.
Shifting Thought- Have you ever had a first thing you know you won’t know nothing experience? What’s your story? What did you learn from that experience?
